Workman crafts first win

Ellsbury, Pedroia and Saltalamacchia homer to back rookie pitcher

Associated Press

Published 11:39 pm, Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Photo: Jared Wickerham

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BOSTON, MA - JULY 30: Brandon Workman #67 of the Boston Red Sox pitches against the Seattle Mariners during the game on July 30, 2013 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 163494778 less

BOSTON, MA - JULY 30: Brandon Workman #67 of the Boston Red Sox pitches against the Seattle Mariners during the game on July 30, 2013 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty ... more

Photo: Jared Wickerham

Workman crafts first win

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Rookie Brandon Workman struck out nine while picking up his first major-league win, allowing one run over six innings as the Boston Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners 8-2 on Tuesday night.

Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia homered in the second, giving Workman a cushy 5-1 lead that the young right-hander never squandered in just his third start in the big leagues. He allowed six hits, three of them in the sixth when Seattle loaded the bases with one out before Workman (1-1) ended the threat with back-to-back strikeouts.

Joe Saunders (9-10) allowed six runs over five innings for Seattle, including two in the first as an error and a passed ball set the Mariners back.

Pedroia drove in three runs, Shane Victorino had three hits and scored three runs, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia added a two-run homer in the eighth for Boston, which left only three runners on base.

The Red Sox led 2-1 after the first, before breaking it open with three more runs. Ellsbury hit a one-out homer into the Mariners' bullpen. It was Boston's fifth hit off Saunders, who was lucky Ellsbury's fifth homer of the season was a solo shot. Jose Iglesias led off the inning with a single, but tried to stretch it into a double and got caught in a long rundown.

Victorino followed with a single, then Pedroia hit one out to left for a 5-1 lead.

Saunders allowed one more run in the fourth when Victorino doubled and scored on a single by Pedroia.

The Mariners loaded the bases with one out in the sixth on consecutive singles by Kyle Seager, Morales and Raul Ibanez. Workman struck out Michael Morse for the second out, then got Justin Smoak swinging on his 103rd pitch of the night to end the threat.

Workman's previous high for strikeouts was five against Oakland in his first career start on July 14, when he left with the score tied at 2 in the seventh and didn't figure in the decision.

His only other start was last Monday against Tampa Bay, when he allowed two runs in six innings but got absolutely no offensive support in the 3-0 victory for the Rays.

Note: Red Sox manager John Farrell said before the game that Boston hoped to have right-hander Clay Buchholz (right shoulder) back in the rotation, but could not say how soon.